Papua New Guinea grapples with HIV epidemic as it battles stigma and US aid cuts
Nancy Karipa, who struggled with diseases for years, tested positive for HIV in 1999. She had just given birth to her first child. “It was a turning point for me because of the fear of being denied, but I chose action,” Karipa, now in his 50s, said at an AIDS awareness event held in Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, in December. She and her baby were treated and her child is still healthy.
Karipa, from East Sepik in northern PNG, is extraordinary in sharing her story. Stigma around the disease is high in the Pacific nation, but speaking out has never been more important. This year PNG declared HIV a “national crisis”.
UNAids, the UN agency fighting HIV/Aids globally, says the epidemic in PNG is among the fastest growing in the Asia-Pacific region, along with Fiji and the Philippines.
New infections have doubled since 2010, and it is estimated that only 59% of people living with the virus know they are HIV positive. UNAids says the rise of infections in women and children is particularly worrying.
Relating to: Aid cuts have fundamentally shaken HIV/Aids care and mean millions more infections in future
“conveying [the virus from] “The mother-to-child transmission rate is very high in Papua New Guinea, which is one of the highest in the world,” says Manoela Manova, UNAids country director for PNG.
Changes to funding for HIV support and prevention have hit PNG hard. suspension US foreign aid Hundreds of clinics have been affected by the Trump administration this year. Sharp declines on a global scale UNAids funding This is also a concern for healthcare providers, and calls are growing for the PNG government to do more.
Over time, HIV awareness has decreased, and now it’s “like the feeling of not having an epidemic,” Manova says.
“This is the perception both among the public and the political class.”
The crisis in the country, where approximately 10 million people live, is exacerbated by a number of factors such as insufficient testing and lack of awareness. UNAids says PNG will record an estimated 11,000 new cases in 2024, accounting for almost half of all new infections among children and people under 25.
An estimated 2,700 babies were infected with HIV in PNG in 2024. In many cases, mothers were unaware of their HIV status and were unable to receive the necessary antiretroviral therapy (ART) that could prevent transmission to their children.
“Many people do not know their situation, and this is the first step in combating the epidemic.” [and] He will be treated,” says Manova.
US aid freeze hits clinics
The government declared HIV a national crisis in June and implemented an emergency response plan that includes more testing, treatment and support.
Ken Wai, deputy health minister, said the government is responsible for supplying medicines, but other support services and community assistance rely heavily on U.S. aid. Trump administration in January cut foreign aidDistributed through. United States Agency for International Development (U.S.ID)Although Wai said some funding has been returned to certain programs.
“USAID funds an organization called FHI360; they help us record data, and a laboratory coordinator also helps the central public health laboratory,” says Wai.
Wep Kanawi, head of the national AIDS council, said the government must do more to address the crisis. The council works to prevent HIV transmission and provide treatment across the country. Kanawi says the government does not receive direct funding from USAID for HIV drugs, but PNG seeks funding from global non-profit organizations that receive contributions from USAID. This, he says, then supports some HIV programs in PNG, including paying staff salaries.
Kanawi said more than 200 clinics run by the government or churches providing HIV services lost funding after the United States suspended foreign aid earlier this year, but he did not provide further details about the services the clinics provided. Kanawi wants the government to do more, saying about K45-K50 million (US$10 million) per year is needed to deal with the epidemic.
“Most of our centers are operating but scaling back their operations,” says Kanawi.
The Kaugere Clinic in Port Moresby, which provides HIV and other health services, is one of the centers affected by the funding freeze. Rose Marai, a social worker at the clinic, says that when aid was suspended by the Trump administration, salaries at the clinic were also withheld because of a lack of funding.
“We were not given a second plan and were told to close the clinic, which affected the communities,” Marai says. “I used to receive K1,000 (US$235) to run a daily awareness program in communities, but since the funding was cut I now receive K240 per month.
“I have already started volunteering to counsel patients who have tested positive, referred patients, and couples who have been exposed to STIs and gender-based violence.”
The US embassy in PNG did not respond to questions about USAID or US funding. The statement said that the United States is “committed to our partnership with Papua New Guinea.”
“U.S. foreign assistance to PNG, administered through the State Department and other U.S. agencies, includes robust programs in security cooperation, disaster preparedness, and health.”
At the same time, UNAids this year faced what it described as a “historic funding crisis”. Cuts to US foreign aid budget and discounts other donor countries. A UNAids report in December said that although funding had been restarted for some HIV programmes, sudden funding cuts and persistent funding shortfalls had “profound and lasting impacts on the health” of millions of people.
UN Aid in PNG says the country has been spared a blow so far, with Australia stepping in with additional funding. In October, the Australian government announced it would “increase annual HIV development funding to almost A$10 million this financial year.”
Manova said additional funding from Australia would help maintain the UNAids office in PNG for “another two years”.
Yet concerns are growing in PNG that the outbreak has highlighted the fragility of the health sector and heavy reliance on foreign aid amid a surge in infections.
Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said the country needed a “fallback position”.
“The long-term strategy is to do it ourselves. We can’t constantly rely on other donor partners to help us,” he says.
Rebecca Bush contributed to this report
